


Come Back To Bed

by tehfanglyfish



Series: Fun With Ficlets [9]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Arthur Knows About Merlin's Magic (Merlin), Canon Era, Deviates From Canon, Established Relationship, Fluff, Interference With The Weather, Literal Sleeping Together, M/M, Merlin takes care of Arthur, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-08
Updated: 2019-12-08
Packaged: 2021-02-24 17:07:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21721453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tehfanglyfish/pseuds/tehfanglyfish
Summary: Arthur tries his best to find the motivation to get out of bed and be a responsible king. Merlin thwarts his plans with blatant abuse of magic. Not even the king of Camelot can resist sleeping in on a rainy day.Set a year after"I'll Be Here When You Wake"but can be read as a standalone.
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Series: Fun With Ficlets [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1371040
Comments: 22
Kudos: 627





	Come Back To Bed

**Author's Note:**

> Obligatory I-don't-own-these-characters-or-this-franchise-and-am making-no-money-from-this-work statement.

It was morning. Again.

Time for Arthur to face the consequences of a decision made a month earlier. At the time, reserving an entire day for training had seemed like a good idea – nothing on the agenda but sparring with the knights from morning to dusk. Now that that the day had actually arrived, Arthur was having doubts.

The bed was soft, the blankets were warm, and Arthur had no desire to leave. But good kings must attend to kingly business.

Groaning, he tried to force himself to sit up.

“That doesn’t sound good,” a muffled voice said from beneath the covers. “You’d better stay in bed.”

“Can’t. I have to be on the training ground in an hour.”

Arthur leaned over to kiss the top of Merlin’s head, the rest of his lover buried under blankets.

“But you haven’t had nearly enough sleep. I forbid it.”

Arthur couldn’t deny that he was tired, the previous day consumed by matters of state and the night largely dedicated to matters of the heart. Still, he mustn’t shirk his responsibilities.

“I’m the king, Merlin. You can’t tell me what to do.”

The lack of a retort meant Merlin had fallen back asleep. And he had the nerve to call Arthur lazy.

Maybe that was for the best. They had nearly been late to the previous day’s council meeting, soft touches and heated kisses convincing Arthur that five more minutes in bed couldn’t hurt. If five had turned into thirty, well… these things happened.

Today, with Merlin asleep, there would be no distractions to keep him from slipping out of bed, into his clothes, and on to meet the knights.

It would be a good day for training, Arthur decided, noticing the bright sunshine spilling in around the edges of the curtains.

He’d made it to the wardrobe to gather his clothes when a loud clap of thunder rang out. The room grew dark as the sunlight faded. Cheerful sounds of birdsong were replaced with heavy rain pounding on the castle walls and windows.

“Sounds like a big storm, one that will last all day. There’s no way you can train in weather like that. Come back to bed.”

So Merlin hadn’t fallen asleep.

“This is your doing, isn’t it?” Arthur asked as he returned to the bed. He tried to sound stern, but that proved difficult. Merlin had kept the covers warm and Arthur hadn’t wanted to leave in the first place.

“I don’t know what you’re taking about.”

“I think you do. I think you used your magic to keep me here with you, sleeping away the day.”

Almost a year ago, not long after the first time Merlin had climbed into his bed, Arthur had learned the full extent of his lover’s abilities. It had been surprisingly easy to accept magic, as something so intrinsic to Merlin couldn’t possibly be evil. Which wasn’t to say that sorcerers, specifically _his_ sorcerer, couldn’t be sneaky.

Arthur felt Merlin curl around him from behind, warm breath on his neck.

“I would never,” Merlin whispered before pressing his lips to Arthur’s skin.

“It’s illegal to lie to the king, Merlin.”

“You didn’t let me finish my sentence.”

“Go on then.”

“I would never expect you to sleep _all_ day. I can think of several ways to keep you occupied in the afternoon.”

“Do, um, do any of them involve that thing you did last night? The one where you…”

“That can be arranged. But first, there’s something I need you to do for me.”

“Anything. Name it.”

Merlin laughed softly.

“Sleep. You really do need to rest and so do I.”

Arthur wanted to protest but Merlin had a point.

“Fine. But you’d better be here when I wake up.”

“I always will be – now sleep before I enchant you.”

“That would be an abuse of your power.”

“Maybe, but it’s for your own good.”

Then, just as he’d done for every night for the past year, Arthur felt Merlin’s arm wrap around him. He sighed and relaxed into Merlin’s embrace, letting the sound of the rain and Merlin’s soft breathing lull him back to sleep.


End file.
